The owner of a Falkland, B.C. campsite claims a squatter caused a small wildfire north of Vernon and 11 kilometres west of Armstrong on Saturday afternoon.
Tim Isaac of Tim’s By The River campsite said he visited the scene on Range Road Sunday morning and discovered a burnt tent, sleeping bag and abandoned campfire.
He said it is Okanagan Indian Band range land and camping is not permitted.
“I went up this morning and had a look and there was Natural Resource officers up there investigating right now also,” he said.
The BC Wildfire Service could not confirm the cause of the fire, but told Global News that fire investigators are on scene, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ Compliance and Enforcement Branch.
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The B.C. government website says the branch investigates possible natural resource violations.
READ MORE: 1 wildfire ‘down,’ 6 to go in Okanagan
Those violations may include illegal or unauthorized activities related to use of fire in forests or grasslands.
Fire officials said the 0.65-hectare blaze is under control and three crew members are on site completing mop-up work.
“You could see a big cloud of smoke in the air. The helicopters were here. It took them three minutes to dump and refill, really quick,” Isaac said.
He said he was concerned about the threat to this campsite.
“Any time you see smoke any place near you then things could turn dramatically wrong if the wind changes,” he said.
Issac said a local resident jumped into action and assisted in fire suppression efforts.
“One of the local residents went up there with his loader and he dug a berm right around the fire so he prevented it from spreading.”
No structures are threatened.
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